Chickens should never be counted before they are hatched and the combined Irish and British bid to host the final of Euro 2028 is not such a rubber-stamping exercise as we believed.
UEFA has this evening confirmed that it has received declarations of interest to host the 2028 and 2032 editions of the UEFA EURO from four potential bidders following today’s deadline.
A joint declaration of interest was submitted by the football associations of England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales for UEFA EURO 2028.
Russia and Turkey declared their interest in hosting either the 2028 or 2032 edition of UEFA’s flagship national team competition, while Italy announced its intention to bid for UEFA EURO 2032.
Uefa had advised that it did not want to see bids from the same country for both tournaments but when did Russia listen to advice.
Turkey’s bid was expected, then thought unlikely, but it appears that promises of support for a FIFA World Cup bid were not enough to persuade them to withdraw.
The Irish Government confirmed its support today and the FAI that the bid had been submitted.
It had been hoped that confirmation of sole bid status would be forthcoming in early April followed by a process of discovery and planning before confirmation later this year.
Now though the original timetable of a decision in September 2023 is back on the cards and UEFA will have to provide the opportunity of going further in the process to the two unexpected, and one unwelcome bid.
It doesn’t make it more or less likely than it was to be a winner this time yesterday but the process will be longer.
Russia defended their right to explore the possibility of hosting six years hence and with a straight face, the Head of the Russian Football Assotian described what was happening as a ‘negative trend’ but not one that makes the country less capable of hosting a major event.
Wars happen in the first place as a sign of ultimate aggression and are defended on the principles of freedom and a right to self-determination.
Sometimes you wonder whether allowing those same rights to those who would deny them to others makes any sense at all but that’s what principles of fairness are about, even if those who sometimes benefit are the last people you would want to have in the room.
